Teaching Mathematics

Here's how Maths is generally taught at school and most other classes

Avoiding rigorous proofs as far as possible and focusing only on the formulae obtained.
Emphasis on mechanical application of established results to dozens of almost identical problems in the name of “practice”.
The pace and depth of a lecture is generally governed by the slowest learners in the class and the limited scope of the syllabus. Bright students are offered a raw deal.

Here’s how I prefer to teach Maths

Strong emphasis on the proofs and the motivation behind them.
An interactive approach to problem-solving where a student is led step by step to the solution by training him to ask the right questions and dropping hints if required, rather than blatantly copying solutions.
Exposure to world-class textbooks and a plethora of captivating problems (after some initial training).

The school conundrum

The Current Plight Of Young, Smart Students

From my experience in working with some amazing students over the years, I have come to firmly realize that most of these bright students are just not getting the kind of expertise and attention that they so richly deserve. The school Maths textbooks are too easy for them, mostly full of a plethora of straight-forward, formula-based questions. They have a strong inclination and a lot of time at their disposal to learn further and in way more depth. All they require is appropriate guidance for the same.

Overemphasis On Boards / School Curriculum

Something which really baffles me in Mumbai is the alarming number of tuitions a child is forced to take right from 6th / 7th Std. onwards. A vast majority of parents enrol their kids for tuitions in almost all subjects from Std. 7th onwards but little do they realize that by doing so, they leave the kids with hardly any time for more significant endeavours.

How to spark and sustain an interest in a young child for Mathematics ?

What to avoid ?

Avoid overemphasis on pure arithmetic – Pure Arithmetic primarily focuses on computation. Questions seeking direct answers for addition, subtraction , multiplication or division do not require any logical thinking and do nothing to develop logical reasoning.

Avoid Abacus, Vedic maths and other such tools – Abacus and Vedic Maths focus on swift computational techniques which are largely useless from a mathematical standpoint as Maths is mostly about pure, logical reasoning. Chess might be a much better option as it forces the player to reason systematically.

What To Do ?

AMC 8 and Math Counts- The problems included are relevant for 6th and 7th graders and are a good collection of non-routine problems for this level.

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